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Electronic, electrical and industrial components distributor RS Components added the Panasonic near field communication (NFC) tag platform, comprising a versatile set of NFC integrated circuits (ICs) and easy-to-use development tools, to its product range in April.

NFC is a form of technology that allows for wireless devices to use radio com–munications to communicate with each other, and NFC tags are ultimately aimed at consumers or users who need access to information.

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According to RS, embedded NFC tags enable users to communicate with smart posters, home appliances, wearable devices or office equipment, such as printers, through the transfer of data, such as a Web address, text or numbers, between two devices using wireless technology.

RS GM Brian Andrew states that this technology enables end-users to make “contactless payments” and share information. It can also be used in the healthcare industry, for example, to track patient information and see a doctor’s notes in real time.
NFC chips simplify tag design by integrat–ing radio frequency (RF) and signal conditioning; they also host interface circuitry and 4 kilobit, ferroelectric nonvolatile memory in a com–pact surface-mount package.

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The Panasonic NFC tag platform connects directly to an external antenna, and supports RF, and serial and tunnel communication modes to manage data exchanges between host, reader and tag.

Additional development tools from RS include a selection of NFC tag boards containing the IC, an antenna and a host connector, as well as evaluation kits that comprise the NFC tag board and a generic microcontroller board.

Using the NFC tags helps to relieve wireless-design challenges and enables engineers to quickly configure a prototype and test their application using an NFC-enabled mobile handset or dedicated reader and writer. Multinational electronics company LG is one of a few companies that has also started to incorporate NFC into its electronics and appliances, such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners and refrigerators, to create an NFC community among its products.

RS has more than 2 500 brands and 500 000 products. Its NFC products form a part of the company’s portfolio and are supplied by leading brands such as Panasonic, global semiconductor design & manufacturing company Texas Instruments and semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics, says Andrew.

He notes that RS adds 5 000 new products to its product range on a monthly basis.
“We are continuously growing and making new products available to the market.”

About RS Components
RS Components distributes electrical, electronic and mechanical tools and industrial products.
Operating in 26 countries, while serving a further 100 through third-party distributors, the company serves every sector of industry in the procurement of its products relating to maintenance, repair, operations and low-volume production, as well as research and development.